French Ban Titanium Dioxide Effective January 1, 2020

Posted by Cathy on

This is fascinating on many levels.

The French ban on titanium dioxide took effect on January 1, 2020.

Are you asking yourself, why would the French be concerned enough about titanium dioxide to ban it in food?

Should I be concerned about the vitamins and supplements I take that have titanium dioxide under the “other” ingredients?  Yes!

Titanium dioxide is used as a filler also known as excipient in many brands of dietary supplements in the U.S. and manufacturers are not required to tell you how much of it is in the product.  The only requirement is to list it on the label under “Other Ingredients”.

A 2017 French scientific study highlighted the potential carcinogen risks of nano-particles of Ti02, a type of titanium dioxide. France’s National Assembly passed an amendment banning the use and importation of any food product containing titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a food additive beginning January 1, 2020.

Critics say titanium dioxide serves no nutritional purpose, does not increase products’ shelf life, and may pose a risk to humans since the nano-particles may be able to pass through protective walls of organs such as the liver, lungs or intestines.

France ordered an inquiry last year after scientists reported that titanium dioxide caused precancerous lesions in 40 per cent of rats given the chemical in their drinking water.

It also sped up the development of these growths, which are not malignant but can develop into more dangerous cancers, according to France’s INRA agricultural research institute, which took part in the study.

Researchers from France and Luxembourg said that titanium dioxide was approved in the US in 1966.

Pacific Herbs never uses fillers for excipients in any of their natural herbal products. We pride ourselves on purity and potency.  We would never dilute our 100% botanical ingredients with anything, especially something known to be toxic.

titanium dioxide danger

Titanium Dioxide Proven to Negatively Affect Your Gut Microbiota

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New research from the University of Sydney reveals titanium dioxides negatively impacts gut microbiota.  Many diseases like inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer are linked to healthy gut microbiome.

Although you might not ever intentionally consume titanium dioxide it is commonly found in processed foods, vitamins and many dietary supplements. Check the ingredients in your vitamins and supplements to find out whether you’ve been unknowingly consuming titanium dioxide.  This just-released research from Australia presents pivotal evidence on the effects of titanium dioxide on our gut microbiota. Co-author of the study Assoc. Professor Macia said, “this study investigated the effect of titanium dioxide … and how it promoted the formations of biofilms.” Biofilms are bacteria that stick together and often impenetrable by antibiotics and many drug therapies. Biofilms have been reported in diseases such as colorectal cancer.

Many vitamin and herb manufacturers use titanium dioxide as a filler or excipient in over the counter dietary supplements.  Everything from your melatonin for sleeplessness to your multi-vitamins may contain small amounts of this toxic chemical.  The Univ. of Sydney study showed even nanoparticles of titanium dioxide have a harmful effect on our gut bacteria.

One of the founding principals of Pacific Herbs and reason for launching this herbal business was to bring the purest and most potent herbs to consumers. Pacific Herbs products have never contained any unnecessary fillers or excipients, and would never add titanium dioxide under any conditions.  Check your bottles of supplements in your kitchen.  Find out the truth, hopefully, they don’t contain this nasty chemical. If they do, return them to the place of purchase and use that money to buy pure products that will improve your health not harm it.

More information here.

See University of Sydney study here

What is Titanium Dioxide Doing in My Vitamin Supplements?

Posted by Cathy on with 1 Comment

pacherbs.com“Vitamins are good for us’” is the overwhelming consensus if you ask just about anybody.  They support our body functions and gives us the extra nutrients we need. So what’s titanium dioxide, (now categorized as a carcinogenic in Canada)  doing in bottles from some of the largest vitamins manufacturers.  If you’re like me, this news comes as a big surprise.

How can that be you ask?  The question you should be asking is, do you read your vitamin bottles, herbal supplements and cosmetics carefully enough to know what your buying? Below is the label of one of the largest vitamin manufactures in the U.S.  Check out the nomenclature,  CAREFULLY!  If your not a chemist it may look like a foreign language.  This is the real label, nothing added or subtracted. INGREDIENTS: Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Dibasic Calcium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C), Ferrous Fumarate, Pregelatinized Corn Starch, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E). Contains < 2% of: Acacia, Beta-Carotene, BHT, Biotin, Boric Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Calcium Stearate, Cholecalciferol (Vit. D3), Chromium Picolinate, Citric Acid, Corn Starch, Crospovidone, Cupric Sulfate, Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12), FD&C Yellow No. 6 Aluminum Lake, Folic Acid, Gelatin, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Hypromellose, Manganese Sulfate, Medium-Chain Triglycerides, Modified Food Starch, Niacinamide, Nickelous Sulfate, Phytonadione (Vit. K), Polyethylene Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vit. B6), Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Silicon Dioxide, Sodium Ascorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Metavanadate, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Sorbic Acid, Stannous Chloride, Sucrose, Talc, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vit. B1), Titanium Dioxide, Tocopherols, Tribasic Calcium Phosphate, Vitamin A Acetate (Vit. A), Zinc Oxide. May also contain < 2% of Ascorbyl Palmitate, Maltodextrin, Sodium Aluminosilicate, Sunflower Oil.

You are not alone if you’re having a hard time understanding the names on this list of ingredients. Certainly, this is not a product you should purchase if you are looking for a healthy vitamin. There was once a time when we received all our vitamins from the foods we ate and the water we drank.  Sadly, it is no longer the case. Vitamins and minerals once plentiful in our soil have been depleted by years of over-harvesting and the use of harsh fertilizers. Taking supplements is necessary today.  But to include un-pronounceable chemicals into vitamin supplements is obscene. This practice by the large manufacturers is not done for fun, all these chemicals actually have a purpose.  Some prevent the gluing together of the tablets, others provide a pleasing color or help the machinery so they don’t clog when filling bottles or capsules.  But why would we want to include these chemicals into our vitamins and herbal supplements when they have never been part of the food chain? Have you seen FD&C Yellow No. 6 Aluminum Lake (included in the list above) grown anywhere or does it come from an animal? The answer is nobody really wants to ingest these chemicals.  Yet ingesting any substance, never before in our food supply worries me.  The trace amounts of scary sounding chemicals may seem like insignificant risk factors but when you add up the number of chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis it becomes alarming,  as do cancers rates. We have no real data on how these chemicals react in our bodies, yet the FDA has approved the use of these chemicals in food products. What about herbal supplements?  Many contain a similarly long list of added chemicals and preservatives.

Do you buy from reputable manufacturers?  Do you read the labels?  Pacific Herbs herbal products are produced with the highest grade raw herbs available.  All our raw herbs are inspected and tested for 200 different impurities. This is the only way to know the raw products are pure and void of contaminants.  We package our herbs in individual stay-fresh packets to avoid the use of fillers, binders, excipients and flow agents.  We figured you probably get enough unknown chemicals from everyday life, you don’t need anymore in your health supplements.